Prices for container freight increase significantly
18 shipping companies are currently avoiding the Red Sea due to fears of attacks by Houthi rebels. The detour via South Africa is lengthy. This is now also having an impact on freight rates.
Due to the attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, 18 shipping companies are diverting their ships and having them circumnavigate Africa instead, according to the United Nations. The rerouting of ships via South Africa means an extension of the journey time by ten days and "negative effects on trade and rising freight rates", said the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez. The supply chain management technology company project44 even spoke of an extension of seven to 20 days.
According to the international freight booking platform Freightos, freight rates have more than doubled this week to over 4,000 dollars per container. Between Asia and the Mediterranean, they rose to 5175 dollars. Some large shipping companies announced rates of over 6000 dollars for Mediterranean shipments for the middle of the month. Surcharges ranging from 500 dollars to 2700 dollars per container could push overall prices up further, Freightos explained.
The Egyptian Suez Canal connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and is the fastest way to transport fuel, food and consumer goods from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Around a third of the world's container freight, including electronics, medicines, furniture and machine parts, is shipped via this route.
In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have declared their solidarity with the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip and have repeatedly attacked ships off the coast under their control with drones and missiles. Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and other shipping companies have announced that they will therefore avoid the Red Sea. By Wednesday, more than 180 ships had already been diverted around the South African Cape of Good Hope. Although rates have skyrocketed, they are still far below the pandemic-related record levels of 14,000 dollars per container for shipments from Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
In order to protect merchant shipping, the USA announced the formation of an international military coalition in mid-December. According to the US Department of Defense, more than 20 countries are now members of this coalition. Germany is not yet a member, but is considering joining, according to the Federal Ministry of Defense.
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Source: www.ntv.de
